Color television pickup tube



OCt- M, 1952 s. v. FORGUE COLOR TELEVISION PICKUP TUBE Filed April 22, 1950 Forgzle 4% ATTO R N EY ...Patented Oct. 14, 1952 UNITEDA STATES PATENT" orsic1a:.f1;l r n 2,614,235 CoLot'TELvIsIoN VrloKUr TUBE Stanley :V. Forgue, Granbury, N; J.,` assigner to Radio` Corporation of America, a4 corporation of Delaware Appiieatibn A'pru 22, 195o, serial N; 157,443

14l Claims. (cl. 315-10) This invention relates to color televisionplckup tubes. More particl'ilarly; itl relates to tubes of a kind which, Withoutbeing used in groups o f more than one', can translate a fullcolor" object into a plurality of color video signa In the prior art, single pickuptube television cameras have usuallyrequ'ired the use of revolving color disks for sequentially inserting diierent filters in series with their optical systems.V

It is an object offthis invention to provide a pickup tube whichfas the only such tubein a television camera, can translate` afull color object into a plurality of color video sig'nalswithout the use of mechanically r'no'ving filters.

AY further object is to' provide al cathode ray pickup tube of thev character above described which can be manufacturedinsmall as' well as in large sizes, and at reasonable cost in`r either case.

It is a further objectto provide aY tubeof the character above described the successful operation of which does notrequire accurate registry of elements of thescanned raster of the electron beam with elementary subdivisions-of ai photosensitive target.

Another object is to provide a pickuptube of the character described thel operation" of `which is not easily disturbed-by strayeldsl.

In general, the above objects are attained by the use of atar-get assemblycomp'risinga nurnber of .closely-spaced photo-sensitive" screens;

Each screen is selectively photo-sensitive, i. el, photo-emissive or photti-cor-iductive,` ton a different color componentofthe object'ilighti In addition, in some embodiments? the selectivity of a given screen is aided by an'arr'angeznentin which it receives only a selected component ofthe ob- `iect light, i. e.,voptic'al1y filtered-light.

Part of any object light reaching" the input side of the assembly isintercepted on -the firstsc'reen, which it reaches while therest passes through that screen toward the second one, In'the case of a three-colorn tube, thi'sfli'ght-sharing process is carried one step further to" occur between the second and third screensl Each photo-sensitive target produces' a charge-imagecorresponding"to f charge-image to be translated into a colr'video signal. v

In the drawing: Fig; l represents av pickup tube accordingto the present invention with part of thefenvelope taken in section,l

Fig; 2 is a View of a suitable target assembly for this pickup tube takenY from theA gunend of thetubej i 4 Figs. 3,4; 5 and 6 are' fragmentary cross-sectional views of different types of targetv assemblies, their dimensions not` necessarily being"to scaleiad Figs.` 7, 8 and 9 show types of electronguns suitable for the tube shownin Fig. 5 i

The-camera tubel shown in Fig.` 1 represents broadly a combination of'elements emlcnodyingl the present invention. It includes an envelope l2 havingla neck IH, a bulb Itanda windovvfl; .An electrn gun 2li locatedvin" the neck Ifis 'trained on atarget assembly (represented by block l2(2) which is mounted inthe bulb I6 adjacent the winf dow 1B. In the,"` operation of the tube l0; object light is directed `upon and into the' `:fsseinbly22 through the window la. v

Electron gun 20 may comprise a single electron beam source or a plurality thereof ina manner to be described'belovv. In the operation of tube l0, a d'eection yoke 23' is mounted on the neckl 4 adjacenty the bulb I6 to provide magnetic deflection ofthe lectron bearnin twoV co-ordina'tes to` produjc'e-a pictureraster.

lMeans are provided for causing the4 nal approach of the electronbeam to any part of the back surface of the target assembly 22 to ,beL at right angles thereto; `This` is advantageous in that it causes electrons which reach different parts ofthe' target assembly to have sub'stantialn the` same forward velocities. In addition, it makesit-possible for the beam to penetrate deeply intothe assembly through narrow; passageways therein whose axes are normal'tothe'back surface o'ff the assembly. The means shown in Fig. 1l is alrnagnetic focusing coil 24` Whichpro-I duces an axial magnetic ilux extending'alng all of the regionoi electron travel andgson'ievvhat beyond both ends thereof., In this arrangement the beam'fromthe gun 20 will follow paths such as the one represented by dotted line 26.

A i conductive coating 27 carried on partI of the inner/surface of the envelope IZ'provides a conventional type of nal accelerating anode; In the operation of thi'spickuptube, a sourcel of direct potential of the order of several Ahundred voltsgefg., 300 volts, is applied to lcoating'Z'l while the cathode of the electron `gun 20 is at ground potential. The resulting beam acceleration and the guiding effect of the magnetic field assure the attainment of good focus.-

Sometimes it is desirable for the beam to reach the assembly at very low velocities. However, since even in such cases it is advantageous to operate coatingl 21 at a potential of several' neck I4. A Eacht of a pluralityrf Vthin Vresilient metal rods 29 has one of its ends sealed through to the outside of the bulb I6 Vto constitute a tern /minal pin while its other end (which extends intovthe bulb) is bent back at right angles to provide a resilient support for the assembly 22. The bent-over end of each rod 29 is connected to a pin` 30 extending from one of the electrodes comprised in the target assembly 22.

Most of the electrodes used in any of the embodiments of target assembly 22 consistof large thin plates or grids. Moreover, theyareassembled together with very small inter-.electrode spacings. BecauseA ofthe relatively large size of these elements with respectto their small spacingsvfit is essential that each of them bevery at at all times. However, they are usually not vthick enough to retain the desired 'flatness Accordingly, each of the electrodes is stretched tautly over a rigid frame in the manner of a drumhead. Reference isnmade to my co-pending application, Serial No. 145,861, led February 23, 1950, which is now U.l S. Patent #2,590,764, issued March 25, 1952, in-whichA suitable structural arrangements are shownv and fully described.,-

A simpler and less yexpensive way of mounting a thin yi'latelectrode tautly overa rigid frame has been devised since thai-lling ofmy above-mentioned co-pending` application. It comprisesthe following steps; The rigid iframe `is formed as a simple'ring 3|, Fig.2 (rather'than as a flanged short cylinder) of a suitably rigid; material having a lower co-eicient of expansion than the sheet material used for the electrode. A suitable `combination of, materials is mild s teel for-,the ring and super-nickel Afor thev electrode.` Such ringscan be conveniently formed bycuttingthem (e. g., on a lathe) from standardl seamless steel tubing. The `sheet metal electrode, either before or after it has been processed to yhavea'suitable pattern of small apertures, is placed on'fa at surface plate ;A the ringzis set uponl it in the proper position; a wire of silver solder islaid on the electrode around and., adjacent to the periphery of the ring; a heavy hat face plate is laid on top of the ring 3| to force the ring iirmlyagainst the super-nickel sheet; 'and the entire 4assembly is heatedrin a hydrogen` atomsphere until 'the silver solder iiows into the spacebetween thering and the super-nickel sheet. Upon cooling, the shrinkage of the super-nickel is greater than that of the mild' steel. 'As a result, the electrodeis drawn tautly and maintained iiat. f

,'g. 3 shows a portionof a type of targetassembly 22 which may be used in atube like that shown `in Fig. 1 for a two-color television system. It comprises a back photo-sensitive screenrepresented generally at 32, and a, front photo-.sensitive screen, similarly represented at 34. The operation of tube,y I does not dependupon these lscreenshaving av particular type of photo-sen-y stivityl (as distinguished from, theiry having see vlective photo-sensitivity). Thus, for example,

both of the screens may be photo-conductive; or l both may be photo-emissive; or one may be of one type and the other of the other.

In general, a screen which is constructed as shown herein, whether it is of one type or the It does so by emitting. unequal numbers of electrons from diilerent parts of its surface accordi ing to the unequal intensities of the incident light.` A photo-conductive screen produces a charge image indirectlysgltsdoes so by rstY producing a patterny of different values of front-to-back con ductivity in theiactive lm. As a result, unequal leakage occurs between4 an initially uniform charge laid down by the beam on one surface y(of the? film) and a conductive backing plate adjacent to the other surface, whereby the uniform 4charge is converted into a charge image.

HVA conductive b aclingplate which is needed to accomplishthe conversion ofnju'niform charge into a charge` image yin a` photoicoriductive type of screen is anormal, part of screens of either type. This is becauseinebothit has Ythe f unctiontof capacitively coupling the charge ,image Ito the signal output terminal. As islnown, during,` each scansion the scanning beam 1wipesout `a-charge image by eitherfadding `or effectively ,subtracting enough negative V:changed: from eachl 1pietiire welement to restorel it to a-.uniformpequilibrium potential. A low-velocity beam adds negative-.charge-by depositing primary electronszori thescreen. A'highvelocity beam ,subtractsnegative,'charge by lcausing secondary emission from the screen. The resulting small increments ofcurrent to or from the beam side o f the `screen-,are capacitively coupled to the vsignal outplltfterminal by its backingplate-v j;

U'Ifhe frontscreen 34. lnjiustnbe able totransmit as much light as,4 possibler to vthe back screen(s) but it does not have to ,be `permeable to the electron beam. Accordingly, its supporting structure consists of a transparent solid plate, glass plate 36A.V The backing platevforthe front screen 34 is a transparent conductive coating 38, such as a coating of the material knownas Nesa which is produced by The Pittsburgh Plate Glass Co., Pittsburgh, Pa.,` which vis carried on the glass plate 36 on its side toward the electron gun 20. A coating, of photogsensitive-material 40 is carried on topvof the.transparentconductive coating 38. `Conversely togthegfront -screen 34, the back screen 32 does not have `to be ableto transmit light but does Vlikaveyto bel permeable to the electron beam. Accordingly, thesuppOrtng structure for backscreenn32 consists of a-.thin foraminous metal plate.ll2.A ItsmanyV closely-spaced apertures provideA the required permeability to the electron beam; the unaperturedvportion of its front surface provides a vfoundation for the active coating; and, since it is made of metal, this plate itself acts as the required conductive backing plate. A .photo-sensitive coating l44 is car-v ried on the frontsurface ofl'the platej42. A colorswitching control ygrid 46 4is insulating-ly carried the back and front eaeh'0f'th..twophoiozseestive screensis pom-A ized-at a direct potential slightly above-that of the electron gun cathode, for example, volts higher. YSince the final anode coating 21 is maintained ata much higher` potentiaL'iL e;, at about 300 volts or so, the potential gradient from the lized in some embodiments-in place of the magnet 24 as a beam-normalizing means. Moreover, one or more low voltage screens'33 may be mounted between the final acceleratinganode and the target assembly which may be polarized at a potential intermediate the respective potentials of easily veffected with alternating pulses having peak-to-peak magnitudes of the order of five'or ten volts. During each positive pulse, the' beam passes through the grid 46 to the frontscreen 34 and during each negative pulse it is reflected bacl:

tothe back screen 33.

If desired, this tube can be utilized in a simultaneous form of operation. This may be done by includirig` two cathodes in the single gun 20, as shown at T47 and 48 in Fig. 7, or providing an equal numberof` cathodes as respective parts of separate complete guns. If one of the `cathodes is polarized at slightlyvabove the potential of fthe color-switching grid 46 and the other at a potential slightly below, one of the beams is continuously reflected tothe backscreen 32 and the other continuously passes through to the front screen 34.` In this way, both electron images will be analyzed simultaneously. I l

In the gun shownrin Fig. 7, the two cathodes 41, 48 have a common control grid `119. It is in'- herent in this arrangement that in the operation of the tube each` of the two cathodes hasa different bias with respect to the-common grid. Because of this,diherentI spacings are used between the grid` t9 andthe respective cathodes. As` a result,v the two beams have substantially equal currents despite the unequal biases.

Each` of :the coatings 4D, 44, should be of material which is selectively responsive toua. different complementaryportion of the visible light spectrum. Red selenium is a photo-conductor which is particularly appropriate for thel coating since it happens to` have both selectivephotosensitivity and a useful optical filtering effect. In addition tolresponding selectively to lig-ht in the blue-green end ofthe visible spectrum, it also attenuates it, i. e., lters it out. Therefore, when it is used on the front screen, only light components in the, red end of the spectrum can reach thefbak Screen 32. This improves the degree of color separation which can be attained with this tube. Obviously, the possibility of further such improvements will increase as materials are developed which have even a better combination of selective light responsiveness and selective light transmission.

InnFig. 4 there is. shown an arrangement for assembly 22 which` is suitable for a three-color system, `It comprisesfront and back photo-sensitiveI screens 34- and 32` Whichwstructurally are *simi-larA to thefc"c irrespond-ing\l screens of the Fig.`

Bil-assembly. AF-Howeveri in'rthis target,l each photosensitive coating-is selectivelyrespolnsive toa smaller portion of the visible spectrum,il e., ideally to about one-third .instead of one-half thereof. The third screen in the'Fi'g. 4 embodiment is an intermediate screen 50 which is carried in the assembly 22 about midway between the front andjback screens. Ideally, this screen should have both good light transmission and permeability tothe beam. Since it is difficult to make a sufficiently strong screen of transparent material, such as'glass,-which is at theV same time either foraminousenough'or thin enough to be permeable to thebeamfthis" screen is made of metal, like the back screen 32, lbut with a larger ratio of apertured to unapertured `surface,A `l3e` tween each pair of adjacentscreens there/is a coloreswitching'control grid, 52 and 54 respectively, like the grid 46 of Fig. 3. l v Thes-foraminous plates for the back and intermediatescreens 32 and` 5H `may be formed of thin copperor supernickelsheetsby a photo-engraving-and-etching process comprising .the follow- `ingfsteps: An exactmeplica,ofthe'screen is` first drawn` withpen and ink (itis permissible to do 'this on a .scale very muchlarg'er than one-tofoneand to obtain a,"photographicallyreducedl facsimile, itwill bev helpful for Iattaining Drecisioniv: the

thin copper` sheet .is coated` with `a .photo-sensitive material which hardens on exposure to light; a `negative .light-image of the .replica` isV projected I Vvontothe coppersheet'; the Afunhardened portions of the: photo-sensitive material `arey washed away,r and the copper sheetis etched through in the `places exposedbythewashing. l 1 l Preferably, the controlgrids `are made of ne woven wirewmesh, 'or ysome Vequivalent thereof which affords as` 'large arratio of "apertured-tounapertured l structure l as is commensurate ywith operativeness asacontrol electrode and Withthe tensile"strengthsneeded to .maintain tautness. The grids may. besputtered withgold to reduce anytendencyto secondary'emissiveness.

Suitable; transmission percentages for the two .foraminous metalscreens .are between fifty and sixty `percentffor` the `intermediate .screen and aboutforty percent for lthe back screen. Preferably, theysame number Aof apertures is `used in each of these screens.- sMoreover, preferably these aperturesf should bewpositi'oned in identicalpatterns so that itis.` possible for.` each and every aperture of `-one plate tor be substantially aligned with a corresponding aperture of the other. With such alignment, substantially all ofthe beam electronswhich pass through a particular aperture of the back screen are free to` pass through ,alcorresponding (anclflarger)` aperture ofthe interlnecliatey screen` unless they `are purposely stopped `bytheback control grid 52.

\ In arrangementsoffthe kind shown herein, it is not difficult toform the photo-sensitive coatingsfsince each of them'consists of a uniform sizes withusmall diameter screens.

Toobtain'satisfactory operation, it not nec essary touse anyl particular photo-sensitive material 'aslong yas some-"appropriate material is used -whichi-frenclers `a give'nf' screen capable of .the desmadre-electivephoto-sensitivity. The following f coating-materials; have been found suitable and therefore'.Litre` mentioned herein by Way kof examplegpnly: 'fz-.-

. abundant knowniartrelating thereto. 1 z

As pointedout above, the opticalfiltering effect l of` the.. front screent may aid the selective responsivenesslof the backscreems); However, it is possible that occasionally avery desirable screen material Jfor ithe'front screen will prove totha'vef'an adversefiltering effect. The arrangement=shown inilig.A 5 issuitable for' avoiding the difliculty which thiswill present.l In Fig..5,a11 of the photo-sensitive targets are carried on foraminous metal 'backingfplates These plates as. they. occurin succ'essionlfromv the back to the frontof the assembly'have progressively 'higher -percentagesloflight transmission. However, in vthis case, thelightrreaching thetwo back screens does notactuallypass. through a layer of photosensitive material on .the vfront screen but rather through open-holes therein. This .permits a sharing between the screens of unfiltered light from the'.ful1'color object; Accordingly, in a target assembly as in.Fig.5, the electrode nearest to the window., I8 is simply a conductive .transparent plate 56, e. g., a glass plate with a Nesa coating on its back surface. The assembly shown in Fig. 5 does'not `include any switching control grids. This is possible because in` one way of operating the tube theelectron velocities within the assembly are lowv enough so that the targets themselves .may be usedas switchingelectrodes. V'I'hus'any it isldesiredvto back the beam` upon.. the

I luniform charges intoA charge images; Vandv'from y the backing plate through la utilization .circuit photo-sensitive screen Anearest to the., frontyzifV the assembly.. v y.; It is possible .to obta' simultaneous operation of a tube having a'target assembly of ythisjgtype by using three electron guns or a three-'cathode electron gunsuch as that shownA in jFigs 8;and 9.

The cathodes 58, 5.9and 60 are biased to slightly different j potentials with .respect to l a common grid Vlil. sothat each beamgwillpenetrate the target assembly 22 toa diiierent'depth (at which it will'be turned-back upon the foraminous screen through. which it last passed). These cathodes are positioned at unequal distances `from grid 6l for reasons explainedabove.

The grid 46 ofFig. 3 or the grids 52,54 of Fig. 4 may be eliminated if it isvdesired to operate by applyingswitching voltages directly to appropriate photo-sensitivewscreens in the manner exgplained above with Vrespect toV Fig. `5.

. In operating apickup tube I0 Vof the photoconductive .type with,v a low-velocityf scanning beam (or beams), theA following path-.of electron iiow is established: from the gun 2li-to the active Surfaces of the screens to lay down uniform chargesthereon; from the activeA vsurfaces of the screensto their backing platesfto transform the andthe D. C. power supply back to the, g unv20.

This type of operation of this type of ,tube does not involve either primary or secondary emission from the screens and-therefore does not require .any means for collecting any such-"electrons,

emitted ,while the charge images are being formed must be collected. If desired, special collector electrodes may be included in ,the target assembly for this purpose. However, satisfactory operation can be obtained without. them as follows: When the switching controlgrid 46r is positive, i. e., duringintervals when the beam isscan- `ning the front screen, it `can be drivenpositive -enough so that photo-electrons from both screens will be collected on it. Thus, in element-sequential operatiOn, the switching screenV will be 1'able .to collect photo-electrons for at least half of :the exposuretime, during which the charge image is built up. At other times, photo-electrons 'emitted 4by the back screen 32 of Fig. 3 will see.. some positive. field from coating 2.1 which .will fringe positive iield which fringes through `the opene V'the uniform' charge from Whichithe charge image i`s derived will assume a potential level (an "equilibrium potential) equal yto that ofv some tube structure which is nearto the screen in question and collects itssecondaries. .For best results, alstructure. should bevemployed `which will offerfa uniform collecting 'field and therefore will result inthe ..uniform charge" beingfas'truly uniform as` possible. 1 `.Appropriate structure for 'this purpose is-shown in Fig. 6. y; y A

fFig. G isa target assembly veryrnuch like that shown in Fig. 3. A Because of this, certain elements offthis assembly `whichcorrespond to and are in all respects identical to similar yelements shown in Fig. 3, bear the same reference numerals. In addition, this assembly includes a collector electrode 62. Inthe operationof a ytube lhaving this type `of target assemblyigthef collector electrode is4 maintained V4at a potentialfabove rst cross-over with respectl 1 tonthe "electron 1 gun cathode and somewhat higher `than the. hacking plates of the photo-sensitive screens, innparticular, higher than that of the plate 42'.` This will result in goodcollectionuffrom vthe back screen. The switching control grid 46 is-switchedirom a positive potential about equal ,tothat of the collector screen to a negative potentialslightly under that of the cathode.

If the color switching rate is very` much higher than the field repetition rateye. g.,- in element or dot sequential operation,the switching grid will quite successfully collect emission from the front screen. `However, to improve over this, or to better adapt the tube to lower switchingrates or to` simultaneous` operation,- another. collector electrode maybe addedto `the. assembly in the space between the switching control grid and the front screen.

in simultaneousl operation of any Aofthe Vem bodiments shown herein, eachl switching control grid is polarized ata directpotential which is near to the average potentials of the twoor more cathodes to deceleratefall of the beam'sbutfmore specifically is above that of` any beam which litis to pass and below thatofranyIbeam which. it is toreflect. i z.`

While the assemblyof Fig.:6 is especially suited to collecting secondary electrons in-high-velocity operation for eitherphoto-conductiveor photoemissive types of tube.. it can also beV used to collect the photo-electrons. which lare remitted by tubes of the `latter' type, in` eithertypeoi.' opera--` tion. In sequential operationof a picturetube according to the `presentiinventionwit willbe possible` to use electronicfswitching in the respective circuits betweeneach of the screens.k andthe common input of a video amplierstoprevent unwanted electrons, such' Vas secondaries collected on an intermediate screen, during the reading of the front screen, from 'getting into the amplier. It is possibleto operataa photofconductive pickup tube employing a target assembly ofthe kind shown in Fig. `.6 with the,r electrode 62 polarized at a potential which `(whileit is aboveiirst cross-over with respect tothe cathode,` is somewhat lower thanthat v0i" the backing plates for the screens 32, 34. .This-will result in a highvelocity form of operation'iniwhichthe secondary emission 'from thescreens`is actually `not co1- lected by the electrode 62 but instead repelled back onto the screen(s) by it. This is sometimes referred to as high-velocity operation with an effective secondary emission ratio of less than one (1). It is also referred to as high-velocity "positive operation, this terminology having reference to the positive potential of a` backing plate relative to a collector. electrode 62 has the single function of controlling the uniformity of the charge laid down on the target(s) by the beam, instead of the two functions (involved in high-velocity negative operation) of controlling the uniformity of this charge In this operation,

l0 andof causing it to be positive with respect to the cathode.

I claim: i i

l. A cathode ray device comprising an evacuated envelope, within the envelope a group of parallel, closely-spaced photo-sensitive screens in registry with each other and including at least a front screen and a back screen, a window in said envelope through which object light may be directed upon said front screen and toward `said back screen, each of said screens from the front screen up to the back screen having substantial light transmission, whereby some of the object light so directed will reach each of them, each 0f the` screens including la supporting plate having a coating of photo-sensitive material on` its lightreceiving side, electron gun means directed toward one side of the group of screens,` and each 0f said plates which lies between said gun and one of said coatings being multi-apertured whereby it is a forarninous structure permitting electrons from said gun to reach said coating.V

2. A cathode ray device as inclaim 1 in which the supporting plate for said iront screen is a transparent solid plate. i

3. A cathode ray device as in claim 2 and in which the coating material of Said front screen is selectively moet sensitive to light in one portion of the visible light spectrum and has its highest light transmission to light in. another portion thereof.

fi. A cathode ray device comprising an evacuated envelope, within the envelope a group of parallel, closely-spaced photo-sensitive screens in registry with each other and including at least a front screen and a back screen, a window in said envelope throughwhich object light may be directed upon said front screen and toward said back screen,` each 0f said screens from the front screen up to the baelrscreen having substantial light transmission whereby some of the object light so directed will reach each of them, each of the screens including a'supporting plate having a coating of material on its light-receiving side which is photo-sensitive to light in a different i portion of the spectrum, electron gun means directed toward one side of the group of screens, and each of said plates which lies between said gun and one of said coatings being foraminous to permit electrons from said gun to reachlsaid coating.

5. A cathode Vray device as in claim 2 in which the coating material for at least one of'fsaid screens is photo-conductive.

G. A cathode ray device as in claim 2 in which the coating material for at leastone of -said screens is photo-emissive. y

'7.V A cathode ray device including an envelope having electron gun vmeans therein for project-- ing at least one beam of electrons toward a target region withintheenvelope and within said region a plurality of'electrodes positioned in the path of said rbeam and including, in succession, a ioraminous screen electrode having a photo-sensitive coating on its surface oppositely disposed .from said gun means, a switching control electrode adjacent the coated side of said screen electrode, and a photo-sensitive screen adjacent to said control electrode on its other side from said screen electrode.

8. A cathode ray device including an envelope having electron gun means therein for projecting at least one beam of electrons toward a target region Within the envelope and within said'region a plurality oi electrodes positioned in the path of said beam and 'including aforaminous screen electrode having a photo-sensitive coating on its surface Oppositely disposed from said gun means, a transparent solid Plate in` substantially parallel relationship to said foraminous electrode and having a photo-sensitive coating on its side facing said first-mentioned photo-sensitive coating,

and a plurality of grids between said screen electrode and said photo-sensitive screen, said grids including a switching control grid and at least one collector grid.' y

'9. A cathode ray device including an envelope having'elect'ron gun means therein for projecting at least one beam of electrons toward a target region within'the envelope through a deflecting nous 'screen electrode having a photo-sensitive coating on its surface oppositely disposed vfrom said gun means,a switching control electrode adjacent the coated side of said screen electrode and aphoto-sensitive screen adjacent to said control electrode on its other side from said screen electrode:

- 10. Acathode ray device including an envelope having electron gun means therein vfor projecting at least one beam of electrons toward a target region within the envelope and within said region'a plurality of electrodes positioned in the path of said beam and including a group of Yat least two foraminous screen electrodes each having a photo-sensitive coating on its surface oppositely disposed from said gun means. a switch-y ing control electrode adjacent the coated side of each of said screen electrodes, and a photo-sensil region extendingyover a portion Yof the space be- Y tivescreen adjacent to said switching electrode l on the side of said group of screens farthest from said gun means.

l11. A cathode ray device as in claim 10 in which said electron gun means comprises one more cathode than the'numlber of said foraminous screen electrodes in an arrangement in the gunmeans which is adapted to project a vdifferent beam of electrons into the target region to a different predetermined depth when each of the switching electrodes is polarized at a predetermined direct potential.

12. A cathode ray device including an envelope having electron gun meanstherein for projecting at least -Kone beam of electrons toward a target regionvv within'theenvelope and within said regionv aplurality of electrodes positioned in the path vof said beam and including aigroup of at least two foraminous screen electrodes each having a vphoto-sensitive*coating on its surface oppositely disposed from said gun means, a switching 'control electrode'for" each screen electrode adjacent tothe side thereo'f away from fsaid gun means, anda transparent conductive plate adjacent the "coated side of the screen electrode' 'on the side of'said group farthest from said gun means'.I

113. 'A cathode ray device including an envelope havingelectron gun means forprojecting at least one beam of electrons toward a target assembly mounted'within the envelope and comprisinga plurality of itarget electrodes positioned in the path of said beam, a nal beam-accelerating electrode between'.v said rgun'means and said target assembly andan Yelectron:transparent beam Vde'- celerating electrode positioned in thel path of said'beam between said accelerating electrode and said assembly for pre-decelerating the beam of electrons and for controlling `the congurations of a kequipotential 'surfaces` s'et up between said nal. beam-accelerating electrode and the sur'- face` of 'said assembly nearest to it when the former is polarized at a more positive potential than the 1atter,xsaid pluralityy of electrodes including in succession Va foraminous screen electrode having a photo-sensitive coating on itssurface oppositelyidisposed'from said gun means, a switching electrode adjacent the coated lside of said screen electrode and a photo-sensitive'screen adjacent `to said switching electrodeon its: other side-from said screen electrode.

14. 'A cathode ray device comprising an evacuated envelope containing an electron gun means having at leastzone small-area emissive sourceof electrons, a ,photo-sensitive screen includingl a foraminous supporting plate with one of its surfaces positioned to receive electrons projected fromA saidgun'means, and a coating of photosensitive material over its other side, a .grid positioned in vlfror'itfof, said coating for reflecting back upon itz'electrons which'a-re projected through any aperture of said supporting plate while, in the operation of the device, the potential of said electrode has a predetermined relationship to that of ay source `ofielectrons of said gun and anotherfphoto-sensitive screenadjacent to said electrodeA to rreceive electrons lwhich have passed throughapertures of said supporting plate and also through saidgrid.A d .STANLEYV.FORGUE.

n REFERENCES VCITED The following references are of record in the le of thispatent':

.1 STATES PATENTS 2,532,511 VOkolicsanyi Dec.'5,.1950. 

